Can ignore it, but can’t deny that succeeding the epoch is for women
In the rapidly evolving age of the 21st century, women have made significant marks in the professional world. They endear every distinct landscape, breaking traditional stereotypes, and thriving firmly towards progression. No such sector is left on this planet where women are not defining their capabilities. The bar of being “inferior” that has been put in the path of leadership for women for ages, has been snatched down from them, and now they are striding towards leadership roles deliberately. However, today, the modern workforce has heavy demands due to the ongoing economic crisis, and women are facing distinct work-life challenges of balancing personal responsibilities and professional objectives.
Although women are an integral part of every workspace, they still have to work hard and commit more than men to prove their worth in professional areas. There is a huge gender pay gap for women. They are not paid as much as men despite working as equally as men. To prove to be worthy, women do more work and show dedication than men to make their names. It’s not about there being no opportunities for women. However, it’s the unrealistic expectation of being extraordinary than men and still being paid less to reach leadership roles and to be accepted as ‘successful” just like men. In parallel, to be considered a “complete and good woman” they have to be extra-special in their personal life along with professional life. While men can easily get away from these “work-life balance” phenomenon, despite women are equally working as they are. It’s like a two-edged sword for them. Women are expected to have everything to be something. This discrimination in expectations is overburdening women. On raising the question of these “impractical demands”, instead of giving consideration, women are being questioned for involving themselves in this race.
Women have always been oppressed by men specifically due to financial dependence on them for survival. This idea of being the breadwinner has always been used by men as an excuse for a man to be superior. A man works for certain hours while being a homemaker, and a woman has to work for 24 hours without any help or pay. This thought of being a breadwinner gives men the power of decision-maker. He makes every decision of what a woman should do and what she shouldn’t do while doing everything that has been called ‘wrong’ by himself. It’s not the debate of right and wrong too, it’s about the right to decide for yourself. Women have been deprived of the basic right to make decisions for themselves, as they are financially looked up to by men for survival. Due to this dependency, they have to bear their abuse, violence, and orders. So, to get free from this oppression, women needed to come out and take a stand for themselves.
Women have been stuck in the debate about whether should have ambition or not. If a man is passionate and goal-orientated, and a woman questions him about his aims, the answer is “You don’t know anything about the world, you don’t even have any purpose, so just focus on kids.” In parallel, if a woman is diligent towards her dreams and wants to achieve them, she is considered to act like a man as he is claiming it as having a purpose that was only meant for men.
As Simone de Beauvoir said,
“Man is defined as a human being and woman as a female – whenever she behaves as a human being, she is said to imitate the male.”
This notion of having a purpose has always been discussed in human evolution. It is your certain perspective of making your life meaningful. The essence of human curiosity makes them imagine dreams and mind-boggling ideas. Men have specifically emphasized its importance. For centuries, we have seen them doing something ‘unusual’ to make their life purposeful.
On the contrary, women have spent their lives as a support and helper in making their kingdom. Their very right to have their own will to live just got lost in the so-called men’s world. That’s why history is blank of extraordinary women, as they have been deprived of opportunities for so long. But as humanity has evolved, oppression has also evolved.
Women have always expected to be selfless to be considered ‘great’ in the eyes of history while men have been considered ‘great’ for destroying everything to achieve their dreams.
In the world especially in the eastern side, we have seen women are now expected to do both things at a time while men are still free from home responsibilities. Women are still expected to make meals, do laundry, and other house chores while working outside of the home. They must take care of their family and kids. Even though a man is equally (widely he is one) responsible for bringing a child into the world, a woman is expected to do everything for the kid while balancing work and personal life like a superhuman.
Having no support from men, society, and family, women are overly loaded with excessive hopes and demands to prove their worth. They are expected to be caretaker for their family even if their personal needs get ignored. The perception of selflessness is only imposed on women to be great. A woman who puts others first over her needs is considered to be a good woman, and if a woman rebels against this belief, she is considered to be disobedient and rude. Unless she asks for her basic human rights, she will be adored by everyone. And the minute she raises a voice and challenges an opinion, she gets marginalized by society and called out to be too loud and bossy. While if a man blatantly does any action, no one utters a question against him.
Women are also judged more by their measure of beauty than men and are expected to fall in the societal beauty standards. Not only do they have to be active in their work and home responsibilities but also, they must be incredibly fit and beautiful. These fantastical demands have made women more prone to insecurities and low self-esteem issues. According to a health survey, one in five women has a mental health disorder (anxiety and depression). They are more likely to be affected by depression and anxiety than men.
Despite the gender parities women have faced for centuries, they are committed to their struggle for recognition. Forbes acknowledged the world’s most powerful women in 2023 and listed many notable women in political roles, entertainment, finance, and business. The list was diverse including the most prominent figures from European nations and comparatively a small number from Asian countries like China, Taiwan, India, and Indonesia. This leads us to an overall judgment about the rank and file of women in the East and the West. Western countries are still many leaps ahead when it comes to women’s empowerment while Asian women are still seen with prejudice. But here is the smoking gun, even though West has liberated women and has accepted its equal status, misogyny is still lurking at home and in the workplace.
An incident can be quoted by the example of Jacinda Arden serving as the prime minister of New Zealand. She aptly handled the pandemic situation and was influential and more importantly empathetic towards her people. But she faced many misogynistic questions during her interviews about her pregnancy synchronizing it with her electoral campaign. At another point, she and the prime minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, met at a diplomatic summit and were asked sexist questions by reporters. Seemingly, it was unusual for men to find two young and competent women to discuss policy other than just hanging out together and talking about “common stuff.”
Nevertheless, they handled the situation gracefully and questioned whether they thought the same when other prime ministers got together to discuss diplomatic relations. The above discussion concludes two important aspects of women’s leadership. The first is a gradual and firm increase and awareness about the status of women as equal beings among men and women themselves. Secondly, this has brought a lot of criticism and resistance, and new debates are held on why women have become rebellious. The patriarchal structure was happy and society was “organized” as long as women were quiescent by the strains of social acceptance and their biology. Now that, women have become fierce, men are threatened by their resolution and determination.
Part of this threat comes from the point that women are inherently more empathetic and imbued with problem-solving techniques given centuries of depravity and self-reliance. Secondly, the egoistic men would lose the pretext of being the provider as well as satisfy their being by submitting women to their will. This is why we are seeing a lot of debate about women’s weak biology and hyper-emotional cognitive abilities rather than driving women-centric policies. But the will of women to live their lives on their terms has diminished every criticism and will continue to do so because this is a perpetual struggle.
So, how can we build a better society, if we put all the weight of unrealistic anticipations on the 50% of the population? How can we thrive as a community if we don’t assess what women are asking about? How can we bring justice into society if we don’t let our women make their own decisions for their well-being? To address all these challenges faced by women, a collective effort by individuals, the workplace, and society is crucial. The men need to understand the problems of women.
Society needs to compel men to share responsibilities to do their basic life chores, and equally look after children. It is also essential to make workable policies to support gender equality and to foster an inclusive work culture are much-needed steps to be taken towards creating a realistic environment for women to thrive personally and professionally.
As Nelson Mandela once said,
“Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression… Our endeavors must be about the liberation of the woman, the emancipation of the man, and the liberty of the child.”
You may be interested to read other articles in Magnav Magazine such as Moroccan Caftan a Traditional Heritage between Past and Present, Understanding the Attire Enigma in Pakistan’s Women, Scale the External and Spiritual Attractiveness in Women, and Womanhood in the East.
by Bisma Ijaz
